It is staggering how many kids nowadays are growing up without a father. Divorce rates are on the rise and children born out of wedlock is at an all-time high. Not only are the homes these children come broken, but the children are torn as well. There is a sense of abandonment is coupled with fear and frustration. Many of these things I have never experienced for myself as I had an outstanding father in my life. I was one of a dwindling number of children lucky enough to come from a family with a father and a mother married.
Fast forward to now. I own a business and employ a lot of different people from year to year. One of the things that I see time and time again is people coming from a broken home where the father is absent. Fatherless homes happen for many different reasons, most of which are relatively predictable. Many of these individuals have quite a bit in common. One of the biggest things that I notice is a lack of respect. There was never a strong role model in the home to enforce behaviors. Their mom might have done the best she could, but it wasn't enough. Those bad behaviors stuck with the children their entire life and into adulthood. Now as a business owner, I am left trying to play mom and dad.
Instead of building a business, I have to build up people. I end up teaching these individuals how to respect others and develop a work ethic. A work ethic is a foreign term to many of the people I hire. They just assume that they show up for work and you hand them a paycheck. This is not how the real world works, but it may be the only world they know.
Without a father, we will struggle.
Just like an earthly father, we need a heavenly father. When we do not have a heavenly father in our lives, we live in chaos. We struggle with the necessary skills necessary to survive as respectable humans in this world. Growing up not knowing what is expected is a recipe for disaster. Instead of conducting ourselves in a Christ-like manner, we make our own rules instead. Except our own rules usually go counter to God's rules.
We need a heavenly father more than we think. To find eternal peace, we cannot live without a father, our creator. The most significant thing that I see lacking in my employees is the holy spirit. There is no foundation for their life, and many are just wandering around aimlessly not knowing to do. To the best of my ability, I try to introduce them to our heavenly father. The concept of Christianity is usually a foreign concept as well. When the seed of the gospel is planted, I can see the light in their eyes that weren't before. When you give someone hope that there is something greater than this world, it excites them. This excitement provides the person with a reason to search for something and reach out for a relationship with Christ.
1 Peter 5:7 NASB casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.